Love in the digital age

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BT Sport to pay more per match

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BT Sport is paying £9.2m per football game under its new broadcasting deal with the Premier League.

This compares to £7.6m per match in its existing agreement.

The company said: "BT has remained financially disciplined during this process and remains
in a strong position to make a return on this investment through
subscription, wholesale, commercial and advertising revenues,
especially following the acquisition of EE, which more than doubled
BT's customer base."

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'Status quo' reaches ceiling in games auction

Chelsea's N'Golo Kante and Matt Phillips of West Bromwich Albion battle it out at Stamford Bridge

Paolo Pescatore, vice president in multiplay
and media at CCS Insight, says: "As we predicted, there was only one likely
scenario, the status quo."

BT and Sky have agreed to pay £4.4bn to screen 160 Premier League games per season over three seasons.

There are a total 200 matches for broadcast with two packages of 20 games each still being bid on.

In the last auction, BT and Sky paid £5.1bn to show 168 games.

Mr Pescatore says: "Despite more games being available, the Premier League has
failed to maximise its prized asset. This suggests that there is clearly a
ceiling that consumers are willing to pay for watching Premier League games and
subsequently what providers’ are willing to bid for.”

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Premier League raises £4.4bn from broadcasting rights

The Premier League says it has so far raised £4.4bn from auctioning off five of the seven broadcasting rights packages to BT Sports and Sky Sport.

It says that there are two live packages still to be sold "with interest from multiple bidders".

Premier League executive chairman Richard Scudamore, says: "To have achieved this investment with two packages of live rights remaining to sell is an outcome that is testament to the excellent football competition delivered by the clubs."

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All about inflation

Economists are expecting US inflation to show a rise of 0.3% in January when new data is announced on Wednesday.

In December, the rise was a modest 0.1% and for the 12 months it reached at 2.1%.

Mike Terwilliger,
portfolio manager at the
Resource Credit Income Fund, says: "After years of pronouncing inflation 'dead,' the market is
now suddenly focused on and dreading inflation, which of course
was at the cornerstone of this most recent period of market
volatility."

The problem with confidentiality agreements

The Financial Times, which broke the story in January, reports that the agency which originally hired women to work at the charity dinner in London has told them they can disregard a confidentiality agreement they signed if they want to report criminal behaviour to the police.

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US reciprocal tax risks a 'dangerous spiral'

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The Federation of German Industries has warned that the US risks causing a "dangerous spiral" if it goes ahead with Donald Trump's plan to implement a "reciprocal tax" on imports from countries that levy tariffs on US products.

Its president Dieter Kempf told Reuters: "If the USA raises customs barriers, it could lead to a
dangerous spiral. Instead of thinking about penalties and new
trade barriers, we should further extend transatlantic trade and
investment relations."

US Fed 'gradually normalising rates'

He graciously thanks his predecessors Janet Yellen and Ben Bernanke, adding: "While the challenges we face are always evolving, the Fed's approach will remain the same.

"Today, the global economy is recovering strongly for the first time in a decade. We are in the process of gradually normalising both interest rate policy and our balance sheet with a view to extending the recovery and sustaining the pursuit of our objectives."

Fed will keep 'essential' financial regulation gains

Jerome Powell said the central bank would "preserve the essential gains in financial regulation
while seeking to ensure that our policies are as efficient as
possible. We will remain alert to any developing risks to
financial stability".

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Shares jump for revitalised Under Armour

2017 was a bit of an annus horribilis for US sportswear maker Under Armour - its share price plunged after it was forced to cut its annual outlook more than once in an increasingly competitive market.

This year, however, is much more positive. Sales for the fourth quarter and the full-year have stabilised, sending its share price up 17.99% on Tuesday.

Under Armour chairman and chief executive Kevin Plank said: "After years of rapid growth and building a globally recognised brand, the dynamic landscape of 2017 was a catalyst for us to begin strategically transforming Under Armour into an operationally excellent company.

"A year into this journey, our fourth quarter and full year results demonstrate that the tough decisions we're making are generating the stability necessary to create a more consistent and predictable path to deliver long-term value to our shareholders."

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Born to be patient?

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Bikers aren't exactly getting their motors running at the moment - which is why the boss of Harley-Davidson is asking its shareholders for some patience.

They'll need it.

In its most recent results, Harley-Davidson's fourth quarter sales were marginally ahead but full year revenue was down. The largest drop, however, was in net income while worldwide sales of bikes fell 6.7% in 2017 compared to the previous 12 months, with the biggest fall in the US.

Harley Davidson chief executive Matt Levatich tells Reuters that he wants the motorcycle-maker to be a "customer-creator" by growing areas such as its learn-to-ride academies at showroom.

"Mindset shifts are not something that happen overnight," he says: "But that's very much core to the
10-year strategy for the company."

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Watchdog 'must learn lessons from tragic GRG saga'

The Federation of Small Businesses says that the Financial Conduct Authority must "learn lessons from the tragic GRG saga".

The Treasury Select Committee has ordered the regulator to publish its report into RBS's Global Restructuring Group (GRG) and its treatment of small businesses.

The Federation of Small Businesses says: “Victims have been left waiting far too long to see
its findings. Hundreds of small business owners who had their lives destroyed
by GRG are still waiting on compensation. This report could help secure the
redress they’re due. In any case, the truth is the very least they deserve.

“The
FCA should learn lessons from this tragic saga. The Treasury Committee is right
to say it “lost control” of this investigation."

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A million companies start workplace pensions

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More than a million employers have now enrolled their staff into a workplace
pension, The Pensions Regulator has reported. It said the scheme has
led to around 9.3 million people so far saving into a pension.

Former Pensions Minister Steve Webb, now director of policy at insurer Royal London, said it was "a huge milestone" but that the government needs to "get savings levels up to more realistic levels as quickly as possible."

Contribution levels to auto-enrolled company pensions start increasing in April and Mr Webb warned: "We urgently need a plan to get people beyond the
8% minimum contribution planned under existing legislation."